X Visitor

First of all, I want to apologize for not getting these photos up SOONER! My mom came to visit our classroom to teach us about x-rays. We learned about Mr. X-ray in May and thought it would be neat for the students to see actual x-rays. The students were pretty confused about the whole Ms. Holden vs. Mrs. Holden. :)

My mom asking about what letter we learned.

How do we make an X with our body?

Guess what this is an x-ray of...

This is some protective gear to wear when taking x-rays.

Denea and Grace trying the protective gear on.

Whoops!

Dear Parents/Guardians, I just realized that I forgot to put two very important things in our newsletter. First, on Thursday, April 21st, Thomas Jefferson is hosting an event called Turn Off The TV Night, which is a night of fun, free activities for families. More information is to come. We will also be sending home a fundraiser for Schwanns that will have a truck here from 3-8 pm. Pre-ordering is best but they will accept walk-up orders that night as well. Second, I forgot to let you know when the Book Order is due! Sorry! It is due April 28th and here is the information if you’d like to order online: www.scholastic.com/bookclubs Classroom Code: GT8GF Hope you all have a wonderful rest of the week! J Sincerely, Ms. Holden

March Newsletter

What We've Been Working On In March: · Language Arts/Reading: We have been working on beginning and ending sounds. Please keep working on reading with your child. They have all grown so much in this area! · Math: We learned the penny, nickel, and dime, how much they are worth, and how to exchange them. We’ve also focused on simple addition and writing a number model (1 + 4= 5). The students have also learned some subtraction! · Social Studies: We have started to learn about maps (how to read a map, what things are on a map, what we can make maps of, etc.). This ties in with our Everyday Math Project for Unit 6. · Writing: Students have been working hard on using a finger space between each word in a sentence, using only an uppercase letter at the beginning of a sentence, and some form of punctuation at the end of the sentence. Please keep working at home with them on their writing. I am so proud of their progress! · Thank you for those who attended parent-teacher conferences! It’s always nice to talk with parents/guardians to see what they are working on at home. Important Dates: April 11-13th—No School Kindergarten Round-Up April 18th-Click, Clack Moo Field Trip April 22nd-No School Special points of interest: · Please continue to work on tying shoes at home. I still have a lot of kids who don’t know how to tie their shoes! · If you have not turned in the envelope that held your child’s report card from January, please send it back to school so we can use them again in May. Also, if you'd like to place a book order online, here is the information you'll need: Online Class Code: GT8GF www.scholastic.com/bookclubs Thanks! Ms. Holden

Kindergartners Doing What?!?

I was very impressed with our Math skills today! These kindergartners (yes, kindergartners not first or second graders) were writing addition and subtraction models! We knew we were smart, but whoa. :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We came into our room this morning and something terrible had happened! There were green footprints and green glitter EVERYWHERE! A leprechaun had snuck into our classroom and knocked over tables, chairs, three stuff off the kids' desks, and left his trail of green glitter behind. I wish I could have had a video of this morning because the kids were so loud and excited! :)

Kacey and Cayden feeling like the Leprechaun was crazy!

Tevin's face is PRICELESS! :)

Some of the kids' reactions when they walked in.

Grace trying to understand what happened.

FFA Visit

We had a couple of ladies from the high school FFA come in to read a couple of stories about agriculture with us. They also helped us do a craft--deciding what fruits and veggies grow on trees, vines, and underground.

February Newsletter

What We Have Been Working On In February:

· Language Arts/Reading: We have been working on blending and segmenting and also beginning and ending sounds. Challenge them with these skills whenever you have a few minutes. These are important skills when reading and all the students are reading, even if its only a word they see up around the room. It is a very exciting experience for us!
· Math: Our main focus has been measuring using our feet and standard feet and making sure we use a label (F for feet). We’ve also focused on simple addition and writing a number model (1 + 4= 5).
· Science: Nathan from Jasper County Conservation was here to talk about Groundhogs Day and also about fish.
· Social Studies: We learned about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.
· Writing: Students have been working hard on using a finger space between each word in a sentence, using only an uppercase letter at the beginning of a sentence, and some form of punctuation at the end of the sentence. They have come so far since the beginning of the year. Please keep working at home with them on their writing. I am so proud of their progress!


Important Dates:

March 17th and 22nd– Parent/Teacher Conferences
March 23rd-27th– Spring Break-No School


Special points of interest:

· Please continue to work on tying shoes at home. I still have a lot of kids who don’t know how to tie their shoes!
· Please remember to try to get your student to school on time (before 8:10) each morning.
· Conferences will be held at the same time you signed up for last Fall. I will be sending a note home next week with the time and date of your conference. Please let me know if this doesn’t work for you.


Please feel free to contact me at any time!
Phone Number:
(641) 792-2498 ext. 1548
Email:
holdenm@newton.k12.ia.us